Alabama

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both announced they will not impose the loan fee increase scheduled to go into effect next month. Fees were to have increased from .5% to .25%, making it even more difficult for Mobile home buyers. The biggest obstacle many ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Mobile home buyers face is the necessary cash needed for a down payment and closing costs.

Both companies, now controlled by the federal government, had decided to increase fees to boost their finances during difficult times.

Freddie Mac, however, will raise fees next year for riskier loan products, including mortgages that allow interest-only payments for the first few years. Freddie also will require higher credit scores for "piggyback" loans that allow borrowers to make smaller down payments by taking out two mortgages.

Taken together, Freddie Mac said the changes would provide "some relief from the challenges in the current market environment," but added that it is following lending practices "that are prudent and largely applicable in all market conditions."

Learn more about Mobile home loans at JudySells.com.

Search all Mobile and Eastern Shore homes for sale.

The monthly analysis worksheets and charts have been tabulated for activity in September 2008.  The analysis includes all sales reported in the Mobile MLS (Gulf Coast MLS) and the Baldwin County MLS (Baldwin County Association of Realtors). 

Please check out the worksheets and charts shown below.  Please send all comments and questions to Team@GulfRegionProperties.com.

Last year we had a terrible water shortage and people were doing all kinds of creative things just to be able to water their plants. Now that the drought has passed, are we back to old habits?

Well, if you have noticed it didn't rain much in September and October is not much better! But the bigger picture is what are we doing to conserve water and energy in an effort to help the environment?

My hot water heater is in the attic and the master bedroom shower is on the first floor. I know I used to fill up a bucket of water while I was waiting for the hot water to get to the shower. We've thought about moving the hot water heater but it just isn't practical. I stopped filling the bucket - that means 2 buckets of water per day are going down the drain -wasted. I think I need to find that old bucket.

Did you know that 40% of the water used in a home goes right down the toilet? They came out with low flush toilets a few years ago, but all the "hard matter" didn't go down the drain so you ended up flushing more than once and it didn't really save anything. There is a toilet out now called a dual flusher. Dual-flush toilets which are used extensively in Austrailia let you choose whether you need a big or little flush. This simple choice can save 6000 gallons of water per year for a family of 4 (according to the EPA and Sterling). They cost a little more, but not much.

You can also get low flow shower and sink faucets to save additional water. Regular shower heads also have a valve inside to help regulate the water.

We can all do little things to cut down on water use. This helps save us money AND helps the environment as well.

LEE COUNTY HOUSING STATS

SEPTEMBER 2007 & SEPTEMBER 2008

RESIDENTIAL - SEPTEMBER 2007

ALL AREAS: ALL AREAS:

897 Houses on the Market this month 951 Houses on the Market this month

69 Properties sold 65 Properties sold

183 Average days on the market 146 Average days on the market

145 New listings 128 New listings

$182,000 Median Sold Price $167,000 Median Sold Price

$217,140 Average Sold Price $188,359 Average Sold Price

$14,982,635 Total Property Sales Sold Dollar Volume $12,243,313 Total Property Sales Sold Dollar Volume

AUBURN: AUBURN: